Latest News from BPCA

13 December 2017

New year arrangements for farm assurance schemes announced

Under transitional arrangements agreed between the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU) UK, all relevant stakeholder organisations and the Government Oversight Group1 (chaired by the Health and Safety Executive), members of farm assurance schemes whose standards involve a systematic approach to rodent pest management, with documentation and regular independent audit procedures, were considered competent to purchase professional rodenticide products for application outdoors.

This transitional arrangement will end on 31 December 2017.

The CRRU UK Best Practice Work Group has completed work with farm assurance schemes which previously met the transitional requirements so that alignment may be maintained beyond the transitional period.

To do this, the work group has established a set of 13 ‘key indicators’ for alignment of assurance scheme standards with the CRRU UK Code of Best Practice on rodent pest management (code available at: http://www.thinkwildlife.org/stewardship-regime/).

Farm assurance schemes listed below have produced new standards that have been assessed by the work group and found to meet the 13 key indicators and therefore their members will continue to be considered competent professionals for the application of rodenticides outdoors.

Membership documents, when presented at points of sale, will be regarded as ‘certification’ for the purchase of professional rodenticide products which carry labels with stewardship conditions (under the requirements of the Biocidal Product Regulation, EU 528/2012) from 1 January 2018 onwards.

No further proof of competence will be required for purchase of professional rodenticides. However, some farm assurance schemes have a requirement that all staff (including, but not limited to, full and part-time and family members) are trained and competent to carry out the activities they do on the assured farm.

Those in the farming sector who are not members of the approved farm assurance schemes listed below have the following alternatives in respect of the use of rodenticides on their holdings: 1) possession of a certificate from an approved course of training (see above), 2) employment of a certificated pest management professional and 3) purchase and use of amateur rodenticide products.

1 The Government Oversight Group comprises representatives of HSE, Defra, Public Health England, Natural England and the Devolved Administrations.

Schemes marked with an asterisk have supplied compliant draft standards. Membership will continue to provide proof of competence beyond 1 April 2018 if compliant standards are published prior to or on that date.